Venice to improve gondola safety with license plates and GPS after death of tourist

They have long been one of Venice's most iconic emblems yet the reputation of the city's gondoliers suffered a blow in August when a German tourist was killed in a collision near the Rialto Bridge.

Watchful eye: All of Venice's gondolas will be required to have a GPS system so they can be tracked in the city's waterways

Now, in a bid to prevent further accidents occurring in the narrow canals that web around the city, strict new safety procedures - including modern technology - are being introduced.

According to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, all of Venice's gondolas will be required to have a Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking device onboard their boats alongside reflective strips and license plates so they can be easily identified, particularly after dark. There are currently 40 CCTV cameras placed along the Grand Canal to ensure any violations of the waterways are captured on film.

Safely Signore: The death of a German tourist in August has prompted strict new safety laws

Gondoliers will no longer be able to punt on the most congested waterways until 10:30am, when the morning rush hour is over. And there are moves to reduce the number of gondoliers using the busiest point of the Grand Canal - close to the Rialto Bridge - by 50 per cent.

The measures form part of a 26-point safety review compiled by the local city council and will be in place by November, said transport councillor Ugo Bergamo. "We had no alternative, we can no longer pretend that the
problem does not exist," he said.

Fifty-year-old German tourist Joachim Vogel died after the gondola he was travelling in with his family collided with a vaporetto (water bus) on August 17th. His three-year-old daughter also sustained injuries.

Meanwhile, Venice's fragility - tourism has increased by 400 per cent in the last five years, a figure which city officials fear could cause permanent damage - has been acknowledged by its inclusion on the World Monument Fund's 2014 watch list.

Fit to burst: Tourist footfall in Venice has doubled in the last five years

The city is one of nearly 70 heritage sites across 41 countries that have been earmarked by the WMF as monuments "...in need
of both new economic resources and innovative ideas about how to preserve them
for future generations."

Tthe fund’s president, Bonnie Burnham, said of the 2014 list: "These sites - and countless others like them - recount our
human history and highlight our achievements. It takes vigilance to keep them
active in the world; yet it is often the case that the very places that provide
rich character and texture to our lives need more assistance and attention than
they are given.”